Dani Pedrosa second fastest in Argentina with Marc Marquez on second row

Mixed weather conditions with cold temperatures and intermittent rain showers on day 2 of the Grand Prix of Argentina saw Dani Pedrosa setting the second fastest lap time on a wet-but-drying Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo track, the Repsol Honda rider earning a brilliant front row start for tomorrow’s race.

Marc Marquez was the quickest rider in FP3 and FP4 but had to settle for a second-row start following a hectic qualifying session which saw him finishing in sixth place. However, his blistering pace in dry and wet conditions alike makes him confident for tomorrow’s 3:00 p.m. MotoGP race, regardless of weather conditions.

Dani Pedrosa

2nd 1'47.330

“What a qualifying session. It was very tight and challenging with the mixed conditions. Once the rain stopped the track started to dry pretty quickly, and at a certain point there was a dry line. The problem was that turn 7 was completely wet, and then the final corner was pretty damp as well. Jack (Miller) made an incredible pole on slicks. After my first exit, which wasn’t perfect, I considered switching to slicks as well. In the end, I decided to stay with rain tyres and to try and push to the limit. I did a good lap and I’m very happy with the result, because being on the front row is important for tomorrow. Honestly, it’s difficult at the moment to know what tyre choice we’ll make for the race as conditions have changed so much over the weekend. So we’ll wait and see how the weather will be tomorrow, looking forward to a good race either way.”

Marc Marquez

6th1'47.754

“Today was quite challenging but very positive as a whole. Qualifying didn’t go as expected but we are not that far. I struggled a bit in my first exit on rain tyres and I don’t know why, because in FP3 and FP4 I had a very good feeling. I decided to try the slick tyres but it was too risky. As soon as I exited the pit I realised that if I touched the wet side of the track the risk of crashing was great. When I passed turn seven and eight I started thinking that pole position is important but that the race is tomorrow, so I came back. It’s a pity we’re not on the front row but I’m happy because I think we’ve worked well this weekend. Yesterday on the dry we’ve been competitive and we’ve been fast today on the wet also. I prefer dry conditions for the race but we’re also ready in case it rains. We’ll see how the weather is tomorrow and what the track conditions are like, then go from there.”

MotoGP 2018Saturday, April 7th 2018

Qualifying
Round 2
Gran Premio de la República ArgentinaArgentina

Qualifying Results

Rain

Humidity

98%

Track Temp

20°C

Air Temp

19°C

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Miller Jack

43

AUS

Pramac Racing

Ducati

1'47.153

2

Pedrosa Dani

26

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

1'47.330

3

Zarco Johann

5

FRA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1'47.365

4

Rabat Tito

53

SPA

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

1'47.681

5

Rins Alex

42

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1'47.743

6

Marquez Marc

93

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

1'47.754

7

Espargaro Aleix

41

SPA

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1'47.845

8

Dovizioso Andrea

4

ITA

Mission Winnow Ducati

Ducati

1'48.247

9

Vinales Maverick

25

SPA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

1'49.044

10

Crutchlow Cal

35

GBR

LCR Honda

Honda

1'49.304

11

Rossi Valentino

46

ITA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

1'49.326

12

Iannone Andrea

29

ITA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1'49.975

13

Abraham Karel

17

CZE

Angel Nieto Team

Ducati

1'49.878

14

Lorenzo Jorge

99

SPA

Mission Winnow Ducati

Ducati

1'50.063

15

Redding Scott

45

GBR

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1'50.175

16

Espargaro Pol

44

SPA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1'50.324

17

Simeon Xavier

10

BEL

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

1'50.364

18

Petrucci Danilo

9

ITA

Pramac Racing

Ducati

1'50.449

19

Bautista Alvaro

19

SPA

Angel Nieto Team

Ducati

1'50.606

20

Luthi Tom

12

SWI

EG 0,0 Marc VDS

Honda

1'50.833

21

Smith Bradley

38

GBR

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1'51.007

22

Morbidelli Franco

21

ITA

EG 0,0 Marc VDS

Honda

1'51.012

23

Syahrin Hafizh

55

MAL

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

1'51.142

24

Nakagami Takaaki

30

JPN

LCR Honda

Honda

1'51.387

Gallery

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Location Information

The Termas de Río Hondo Circuit is located 6km from the city which gives the venue its name, in the Province of Santiago del Estero. It was built in a 150 hectare area and officially inaugurated on May 11, 2008, during the visit of Argentina´s Touring Car Racing championship. In… read more.

Location Information

The Termas de Río Hondo Circuit is located 6km from the city which gives the venue its name, in the Province of Santiago del Estero. It was built in a 150 hectare area and officially inaugurated on May 11, 2008, during the visit of Argentina´s Touring Car Racing championship. In… read more.